Primary Colors (film)

Primary Colors
Promotional release poster
Directed byMike Nichols
Screenplay byElaine May
Based onPrimary Colors
by Joe Klein
Produced byMike Nichols
Jonathan Krane
Neil Machlis
Starring
CinematographyMichael Ballhaus
Edited byArthur Schmidt
Music byRy Cooder
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • March 20, 1998 (1998-03-20)
Running time
143 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$65 million
Box office$52.1 million

Primary Colors is a 1998 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Elaine May was adapted from the novel Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics, a roman à clef about the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign, which was originally published anonymously, but in 1996 was revealed to have been written by journalist Joe Klein, who had been covering Clinton's campaign for Newsweek. The film stars John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Maura Tierney, Larry Hagman, and Adrian Lester.

Primary Colors received critical acclaim but was a box office bomb, earning $52 million from a $65 million budget. Bates was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, and May was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.